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On 5/20, the young couple was working overtime in Kexiang’s research lab. ¹ Chen Wan was finishing up an experiment, while Zhao Shengge responded to work emails (but in reality, he was organizing data from the smart bracelet). He saw that Chen Wan had not taken an afternoon break today. Impassively, he looked over; at the same moment, Chen Wan, dressed in his lab uniform, suddenly raised his head and flashed a full, open-mouth smile in his direction. Zhao Shengge paused briefly, glancing away, but his furrowed brows had smoothed out.
On the way back home, they passed by Victoria Harbor. On 5/20, there were firework and drone shows, and the two of them watched from inside the Cullinan.
Chen Wan crossed over the center console, and Zhao Shengge embraced him tightly from behind. Chen Wan laughed from being squeezed hard; Zhao Shengge’s chin rested in the hollow of his shoulder, warm breath tickling the back of his ear like tiny hooks. Chen Wan couldn’t resist turning back his head, tracing over that handsome face in a besotted manner. Zhao Shengge lifted his eyebrow slightly, serene and unmoving, just quietly watching him like that.
His lashes were so dark and long. Chen Wan really could not hold back, leaning in to kiss him. Zhao Shenngge immediately wrestled control and drew his tongue in, gripping his waist tightly, and pinned him against the steering wheel……the fireworks at Victoria Harbor belonged to tens of thousands of people, but Zhao Shengge’s fireworks belonged solely to Chen Wan.
Tan Youming and Shen Zongnian were both also working overtime. A holiday like 5/20 was for those who spend money to celebrate and those who earn it to work overtime.
He strode confidently into Shen Zongnian’s office with swagger, casually pulling out a gift box from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it to him, “Here.”
A 5/20 limited edition couple’s watch. Shen Zongnian’s hand tightened.
Tan Youming settled comfortably into the other man’s executive chair like it was his own and picked up his cup to take a big swig. ² His handsome face was raised with a look of high spirits, waiting expectantly for praise, “Our new product surpassed Minglong’s top-seller this quarter. This is the upgraded version, take a look.”
“……,” Shen Zongnian coldly pushed it back to him. “How impressive for you.”
“……”
Ming-zai³ was a fiercely competitive workaholic—he went all out when he was having fun, but was also relentlessly competitive and driven when he was serious. In order to overtake Minglong in LPI on a profitable day like this, he worked overtime past midnight. Later, he was so exhausted he fell asleep in the car, and it was Shen Zongnian who ended up carrying him home on his back.
He slept soundly. Shen Zongnian felt this person was truly infuriating and pinched his calf, hard. Tan Youming mumbled, half-asleep, “……not going…..need to work overtime…..”
“……make money…buy T70”
T70, the new laboratory-grade, high-magnification astronomical telescope developed by the UAC. Its primary mirror, equatorial mount, in addition to the supporting computer, drive system and astronomical equatorial platform all approached near sky-high prices; rather, it was currently priceless on the market.
In the dark, Shen Zongnian’s throat rolled as he swallowed hard. Pretending like he had not heard anything, he continued walking forward in silence.
“……I will buy it for sure.”
Shen Zongnian lowered his head. The weight on his back was incredibly light, but also incredibly heavy. After a moment of silence, in the end, he helplessly rubbed Tan Youming’s calf where he’d been pinched harshly.
Like he was soothed by the touch, Tan Youming buried his whole face into the crook of Shen Zongnian’s neck and slept even more soundly.
Translator's Notes:
¹May 20th, also known as 520, is the “new” Valentine’s Day holiday for the younger Chinese generation. That’s because the Mandarin pronunciation of those numbers together ‘520’ (wu er ling) is close to saying ‘I love you’ (wo ai ni).
² The pronouns are difficult to translate clearly in this sentence, but Tan Youming sat in Shen Zongnian's chair and drank from his (SZN's, not his own) cup. They really do share all of their belongings lol.
³ Ming-zai (明仔) is an affectionate way of referring to Tan Youming. It's a common dimunitive in Cantonese. -zai (仔) basically means 'son' or 'little' (in an affectionate, cute way).
If you read other chinese novels or watch cdramas, the Mandarin equivalent is probably attaching xiao- (小) to people's names, like how the Puqi villagers call Hua Cheng 'Xiao-hua' or Wei Wuxian's donkey Xiao-pingguo.
